Reploid

A Reploid, or nihongo|Repliroid|レプリロイド|Repuriroido in the original Japanese games, from the science fiction video game series "Mega Man X", "Mega Man Zero" and "Mega Man ZX", is a robot with complete free will and thought processes comparable to that of humans. The term was originally reserved for robots whose design was ultimately derived (or "replicated") from the original Mega Man X design, but throughout the series the term has been extended to cover any robot with similar intellectual capacity. Some fans of the series commonly use the term outside the context of the "Mega Man X" setting to refer to any robot that has the capability to think and make decisions for itself without human programming.Fact|date=September 2007

Fictional history

In 21XX, some 100 years after the events of the classic "Mega Man" series and the apparent death of Doctor Thomas Light, an archaeologist named Doctor Cain is excavating one of Doctor Light's laboratories and discovers a capsule containing a highly advanced robot named "X". X represents a substantial jump in robotics technology, so Cain attempts to reproduce X's technology from Light's original work and notes. When he is unable to reproduce the technology perfectly, Cain is forced to invent alternative solutions. All robotic designs based on X's technology have been referred to as "Reploids," since they are imperfect "replicates" of the original X. Despite being the original, X is often referred to as a Reploid, and refers to himself as such.

By the time of "Mega Man ZX", set around 300 years after the "Mega Man X" series, Reploids and humans have eventually become one and the same, due to Reploids being given human mortality and humans getting cybernetic implants. This has blurred the lines between humans and Reploids so much that the entire race (both humans and Reploids) is now known as Humanoids.

Technology

Mind

In 20XX, robots such as Mega Man were not entirely capable of free will. As an example, Doctor Wily's Robot Masters were capable of limited thought and moral decisions which lead to such things as hobbies and preferences as these aspects were already set in their programming, giving the programmer some kind of status as a god. Wily usually abused this aspect and mostly programmed or reprogrammed his robots to feel extreme hatred for Mega Man. Reploids however do not possess similar structure in their AI, giving them absolute free will to same extent as human beings have, which allows them to exist as civilians. This however has led to the concept of Reploids becoming criminals or rebels, which leads to the classification as a "Maverick" (known as "Irregular" in the original Japanese).

Body

By default, a Reploid's body is a mimicry of the human body with biomechanical organs and parts. This concept can be thought of as an advanced version of a homunculus. The biomechanical construction allow for human actions and features such as sensory abilities, breathing (displayed by air bubbles while submerged) and consumption, although this also allows for fatigue, pain and exhaustion. However, most Reploids choose to enhance themselves through more mechanical means such as enhanced leg parts and primitive mechanical muscle. Being a Maverick Hunter, a police- or military-like occupation created to destroy the Maverick threat, requires modifications for basic combat. Some Reploids such as the original have mechanically enhanced themselves so far that they resemble primitive 20XX mechanics more so than the more advanced 21XX design. Another example of this form of enhancement was used by Vile in all three of his incarnations, where by choice he removed most of his biomechanical organics in order to house concealed weapons or vernier rockets/thrusters inside of his limbs.

Reploid growth is an unpredictable factor, as displayed by "Mega Man X"'s Axl, who has matured into a teenager since "Mega Man X7", and "Mega Man Zero"'s Alouette, who retained an adolescent age throughout the "Mega Man Zero" game series.

Finally, the power of the robotic body is variable, but the majority of Reploids lifting and power capacity far exceeds that of normal humans. Maverick Hunters usually can lift in the proximity of around several thousand pounds, while civilian and normal Reploids are somewhat weaker, but still beyond human strength.

Mechaniloids

Mechaniloids ("Mechaniroid" in Japanese) are robots with limited or below-average thinking capacity and lack of free-will, unlike Reploids. Throughout the Mega Man series, they are commonly seen as cannon fodder for a more powerful Reploid, and constitute the sole enemies in most stages. Due to their limited thinking capacity and the common adherence to the Three Laws of Robotics, they are very efficient at menial labor. While all of the robots in the original "Mega Man" series lack free will, the word "Mechaniloid" is only used in the "Mega Man X" and "Mega Man Zero" series, possibly to differentiate them from Reploids.

New Generation Reploids

The New Generation Reploids are created in "Mega Man X8" from the prototype Axl. Their main purpose is to serve as the workers for a space elevator project, known as "Jakob". These reploids are fitted with a chip that grants immunity from all viruses known at the time, and also permits these Reploids to change the shape of their bodies (like Axl). However, this ends in failure, as the advanced chip also incorporates data from the Maverick Sigma, causing the Reploids to go Maverick at will. It can also be argued if the Sigma Virus (that is Sigma itself) contaminated all the DNA data, thus creating "clones" of Sigma with very different natures.

Lumine, the main supervisor of Jakob, believed himself and all new-generation Reploids to be superior to even the original Reploids, and plotted to destroy both humans and old-generation Reploids alike.

Pseudoroids

In "Mega Man ZX", the Pseudoroids are eight Mavericks designed with the purpose of being artificial bodies who can draw out and use the power of the Biometal models (Models H, F, L, and P) of X's Four Guardians (Sage Harpuia, Fighting Fefnir, Fairy Leviathan,and Shadow Phantom) from the "Mega Man Zero" series. They are sentient, though all are loyal to Serpent.

Pseudoroids return in "ZX Advent" (this time with allegiance to Master Albert). However, these eight Pseudoroids now carry fragments of Biometal Model W.

Most Pseudoroids have an elemental attribute, either Fire, Ice, or Thunder. These elements obey the "Zero" series' rule of elemental weaknesses (Fire, Ice, Elec, Fire, and so on).

ee also

*Android
*Reaverbot